For Many Vietnamese, It's Still Saigon

IN Ho Chi Minh City, a lot of the bad old Saigon ways are back -- from the bar girls and beggars to the pickpockets and motorcycle cowboys. But it's a new generation, of course. The kids, who were barely talking when this city fell to the North Vietnamese in April 1975 and the last American was choppered away, seem to be hearing the siren song of the West through Japanese headphones smuggled from Thailand or sent by relatives in the United States.

Vietnam's aging leadership is bewildered by the collapse of a socialist ideology to which they have devoted their lives. Vietnam's youth, with little patience for doctrine, has taken on its own ideology: "song voi," or living quickly.

This is especially true in the south, with a long and freewheeling capitalist tradition. There was never much affection for socialism here, or for any other form of order.

This makes Ho Chi Minh City -- still commonly referred to by the name of its most prominent district, Saigon, which also remains the name of its gorgeous, busy river -- a particularly interesting place to visit now, when Vietnam finds itself caught between a crumbling authoritarianism and a resurgent individualism.

For Americans, who are legally free to travel to Vietnam but prohibited from doing business with the country, Saigon holds a deeper interest. The city encapsulated the death of one kind of national dream and remains a metaphor for unfinished healing. A Vietnamese friend says that Americans will never completely come to terms with the Vietnam War, which was justified on abstract grounds of "anti-Communism" and "standing up for freedom," until they come to terms with Vietnam and the Vietnamese. A visit here has provided many Americans with that solace.

For others, it may provide a degree of self-satisfaction, because the influence and presence of Vietnam's major socialist ally, the Soviet Union, is rapidly falling away, the country is going through a transition -- more of a stumble, really -- back to the West, with whom southern Vietnam always felt more comfortable.

Whether it's tea dancing performed for the middle-aged and older, with French dance music dating from the colonial years before 1954, or the extraordinary sights at the new Superstar disco, out near Tan Son Nhut airport, with its up-to-date sound system and lights, the direction is clear.

And there doesn't seem to be much the divided politburo in Hanoi can do. Vietnam, like the rest of the region, is going to be dependent on its capitalist neighbors and the West, and on their currencies.

So after a long period of nervousness about encouraging tourism, tourists are now welcome. And Vietnam has gone to considerable if still insufficient lengths to simplify its bureaucratic procedures, fix up its hotels, take some of the ideological boilerplate out of its tours and, in general, treat inquisitive strangers more like guests and less like "agents of the imperialists and their henchmen," in the memorable phrase of one official guidebook to Ho Chi Minh City, published in 1985.

Still, as ever, a bit of caution is always in order, even if street kids and touts of all kinds generally greet big, sweating foreigners these days in English instead of Russian. Some of these cute kids will want to sell you things -- especially books, stamps and maps.

Others are likely just to be blunt, asking for money, rubbing their stomachs and saying: "I'm hungry." Others may begin, after ascertaining your nationality, to tell a long, discursive story of woe, which usually has to do with oppression and re-education by the Communists after a long life of service to the Americans.

A number of these stories are likely to be true, in full or at least in part. But while you're standing there trying to decide, or trying to be polite but firm, someone else may be feeling around for your wallet, or slicing open your shoulder bag.

I've caught more than a few little hands digging around in my trouser pockets, where I don't keep much cash. Other friends have had their sunglasses stolen from their shirt pockets and their watches whipped off their wrists.

Also beware of street-corner moneychangers: they are excellent switchers of bundles, and many visitors have found themselves with a wad of currency consisting mostly of 200 dong notes (worth less than 3 cents) rather than 5,000 dong ones. The official rate is close to the free-market one anyway. There's no reason to be paranoid, either. But in a phrase used by a new generation of American soldiers in the Gulf, "Enjoy yourself, but don't let your watch stop."

Nor does it help to be too boisterously or obviously a rich stranger from the United States. While Vietnamese, especially in the south, have maintained an extraordinary affection for Americans and seem to like ready talk and easy bonhomie, there are certainly some Vietnamese, their lives and families disrupted or destroyed by the war and its aftermath, who are horrified that Americans are wandering around again with those same big smiles.

A Vietnamese guide from the north told me of hiding in bomb shelters in Hanoi from American planes and studying in the jungle; another spoke haltingly of trying to give first aid to the dying; another, telling a recent incident, described one villager screaming at another villager, who was talking to an American television team: "How can you speak to these people who bombed us? I helped pick pieces of your father from the coconut trees!"

In the interests of politeness, if nothing else, it is also a good idea to be a bit reticent about politics, at least until you gauge the views and moods of your questioners. Many Vietnamese, for instance, are embarrassed by the boat people fleeing the poverty of home; others will want your advice on how to flee themselves.

Vietnamese officials and tour guides, who do, after all, work for the state, are generally patient, but probably don't like political proselytizing any more than you do. Some, including some of the friendly cyclo, or pedicab, drivers, also work for the police or the Interior Ministry and, as in every other country, those who toil for these particular institutions tend to have a slightly different sense of humor than everybody else.

FOR example, the gorgeous hill resort of Dalat, which means "city of love," where Theodore Roosevelt once maintained a hunting lodge some 200 miles from Ho Chi Minh City, remains off-limits to American visitors. It seems, Vietnamese officials say, that a group of American veterans created a sort of demonstration on a visit there and offended the local authorities. Other Vietnamese say there have also been antigovernment difficulties with the Montagnards, the ethnic minority who fought so well for the Americans and the southern regime.

But so long as you really are just a curious tourist and obey obvious and easy rules -- your visa is in order, your customs form is complete and you make sure your hotel or tour guide registers you with the police in each city you visit -- you should have little difficulty.

Most Vietnamese will simply want to ensure that you're happy, and will go to great lengths to please you, whether by hospitality or kindness.

Where in New York City, for example, can you get a massage at table?

One night, with friends and a stiff neck, I went for dinner at Madame Dai's. Suzanne Dai is something of a legend: a Paris-trained lawyer, she was an opposition member of the southern regime's National Assembly. After 1975, when the practice of private law fell away under the new order, she began to serve meals in the library of her law office at 84A Nguyen Du Street, near the Roman Catholic Cathedral and in walking distance of most hotels. She calls the restaurant La Bibliotheque (telephone: 99510), but it is really her salon, filled with her friends, her cats, her still useless law books and some of the antique ceramics she will be glad to discuss.

The food is decent enough, but one comes for the conversation (English works but French is better) and the atmosphere. Mrs. Dai quickly ascertained that my neck was giving me trouble, then called over a waitress. She ordered me to take off my shirt and started massaging my neck, back and shoulders hard, with Najatox, a Vietnamese ointment that contains a bit of snake venom. She finished off the process with spoonlike instruments made of bone. It worked wonders, at least for several hours. A meal for two, with wine, is about $10 to $15.

FOOD and service have improved a lot in the last few years, now that private restaurants are legal and there is more money in private hands. With more private farming, too, there is more fresh produce of good quality, and better beef, though most of it is really water buffalo. The French bread, as ever, is very good, as are the soups at street stalls.

For decent Vietnamese food, try the cafe or dining room of the refurbished Continental Hotel, 132 Dong Khoi Street (the old Tu Do Street for Americans, and Rue Catinat for Graham Greene and the French; telephone 99201). The traditional Vietnamese spring rolls, cha gio, are particularly good here; dip them in nuoc mam, the national seasoning, a clear, salty sauce made from fermented fish. Cha ka, fish fillet on a bed of fresh dill, is also fine ($15 for two, with beer).

Dong Phat, 79-81 Nguyen Cong Tru Street, is a Chinese-Vietnamese place, popular and cheap. The froglegs in garlic are good ($6 to $8 for two, with beer).

Bo bay mon, or "beef seven ways," another popular southern dish, usually begins with a sort of beef fondue and ends with soup. Customers seek out their favorite versions at different restaurants.

Currently the best restaurant in the city is Le Mekong, serving French cuisine with Vietnamese highlights and owned in part by the family of an American Vietnamese. Good crayfish ravioli and fish; the meat is probably the city's finest, as is the service. (159 Ky Con Street, 91277; $20 for two without wine.)

It's nice to meet people for a drink at the Cyclo Bar of the Cuu Long Hotel, once again being called the Majestic, at the river end of Dong Khoi Street ( 1 Dong Khoi Street, 95515). It's my favorite hotel in the city, with large rooms, river views and a friendly and helpful staff, including telephone and telex operators. Good rooms start at about $55, about $30 less than the Continental and about half that of the Saigon Floating Hotel, a modern but soul-less Australian-run place for businessmen anchored about a block upriver from the Majestic.

The Rex Hotel (Ben Thanh), 141 Ngyuen Hue Street, has a nice rooftop bar with odd topiary and good views over the city, especially at sunset. Many people also like the nearby Caravelle Hotel, or Doc Lap, at the Lam Son Square end of Dong Khoi.

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Between the Majestic and the Caravelle, along Dong Khoi, are some of the city's nicest and most expensive shops, especially for antique (so they say) ceramics, lacquerware and embroidery. Walk and look, and take a quick left-hand detour onto Nguyen Thiep Street. On the left -- after Cafe Lan Thanh, known as the Casino Bar, an old G.I. hangout, are some nice shops for embroidery and knickknacks, including the one at the Kodak sign. Ask for Jean Nguyen Khac Doan, who speaks French and English and is friendly and reliable.

Some of the ceramics are lovely and still good buys, if you bargain hard. Better yet, have a Vietnamese do it for you while you wait outside. But some people have had beautiful antiques taken from them by Customs at the airport as national treasures, so beware. Embroidered tablecloths, placemats, napkins, nightgowns and children's clothing are nice and comparatively cheap. There are also many old watches for sale from former colonialists, including Soviets, and good fake Rolexes are common. Russian caviar is a good buy, too (95 grams of beluga for $15), when it can be found. Snake-venom rub (Najatox) is also available.

You can go most places on foot, along the wide boulevards with lots of trees that are one of France's nicest legacies here. The tamarind trees in the small park near the cathedral are especially nice, as is a stroll along the river.

You can go anywhere in the city by pedicab, and most of the drivers around the hotels speak some English and want to learn more. I find the pedicabs, known as cyclos, very relaxing. Take a cyclo on a tour of the sights -- everything is closer than you imagine, from the river to the old Presidential Palace to the old American Embassy (14 Le Duan Street), now an oil company. See the main market of Cho Ben Thanh, and if you have time, the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda on Nguyen Van Troi Street and some of the Chinese temples in Cholon (literally Big Market), the city's Chinatown, and the Binh Tay market there. But get your hotel's advice on current rates of payment for cyclos, and by all means settle on a price beforehand. It can help to reserve a cyclo for the day.

The War Museum, on Vo Van Tan Street, is also worth a visit, to see the first guillotine brought here from France as well as American tanks, artillery and other instruments of war, including the infamous tiger cages of Con Dao island prison. There are also embryos in jars said to have suffered from American defoliants and a separate display devoted to China's millenium of depredations against Vietnam.

You might also want to take a day trip to the beaches at Vung Tau, about two hours away by car. There are many air-conditioned Japanese cars and vans available for tourists, and drivers know how to put in a clean fuel pump when the Soviet gasoline takes its toll. Southern roads, given the American love of road building, are still quite good. The crab is good at the new Hai Au Hotel, on Ha Long Street near Bai Dua beach. A first-class room is $30.

It is worth stressing, finally, that Vietnamese in general like Americans and admire them, and quite a few people in Ho Chi Minh City now have relatives with American passports, who are themselves coming back to visit in increasing numbers.

In the elevator at the Rex Hotel one day, a Vietnamese woman in a silk dress, lots of jewelry and an extraordinary coiffure asked my nationality. "I'm American," I said.

"I'm American, too," she said, which is what I knew she would say, and which I found moving in a way I still don't fully understand. THE BASICS FOR PLANNING A TRIP Making the Arrangements

While all the Thai tour companies are associated with the state company, Saigon Tourist, it is possible to purchase only air tickets, visa and hotel of your choice in advance, and travel independently during the day. Some companies require only two people to make up a tour. One may contact Saigon Tourist directly at 49 Le Thanh Ton Street, which crosses Dong Khoi. Telephone 30100, 30102, 98914.

Contact a tour company well in advance of arrival in Bangkok, because it will need personal and passport information (including photos and a $100 deposit) .

Exotissimo Travel offers a minimum of a two-night tour in Saigon for $570 a person double occupancy, and an additional three nights for only $135 more, for those who want to organize their own trips. Prices also include visa, airfares, hotel, food, transfers and tours. They want passport information, photos and a 30 percent deposit 10 to 14 days before departure. Exotissimo is at 21/17 Sukhumvit Soi Nanatai 4, Bangkok 10110. Telephone (66-2) 253-5240. Fax: (66-2) 254-7683. Air Vietnam

Travel on Hang Kong Vietnam -- Air Vietnam, known among connoisseurs as Hang On Vietnam -- has the drawbacks in lack of comfort of any Soviet-equipped airline.

Do remember, however, on the plane or in the arrival hall, to fill out two identical customs forms as well as a simpler police registration form. Be accurate on the customs forms, including how much cash you are carrying, your camera, Walkman, jewelry, watch and so on. You will get back one copy and the police form. Don't lose either. Since the nation is still highly security conscious, the police form must be taken by the hotel or tour guide to be stamped in each city you visit, or you may face arrest, a fine and possible deportation.

You must reconfirm your ticket before departure. When leaving , you must fill out another customs form, which officers will compare with the first.

Do not allow any film to go through Vietnam's primitive and very high-powered X-ray machines. Health Tips

Contact your doctor about any shots, and consider updating vaccinations and getting a gamma-globulin shot against hepatitis A.

Take toilet paper, decent soap, fresh batteries and washable clothes. It's a good idea to take a thermometer, aspirin, a strong anti-diarrheal medication, a general antibiotic, antibiotic cream, bandages and a good insect repellent. Reading

"The Vietnam Guidebook" by Barbara Cohen (Harper & Row; $16.95) is useful and not yet too dated. For pleasure, Norman Lewis's "A Dragon Apparent" (Eland Travel Classics; $11.95), offers the charming story of his Indochina journey of 1950; at the time, the French held sway and Norodom Sihanouk was teen-age King of Cambodia. You might alsotake "A Quiet American," by the late Graham Greene (Penguin; $4.95), who once lived across the street from the Continental Hotel and used it to great effect in the novel. S. E. U.S. RESTRICTIONS While American citizens may travel to Vietnam, they must be careful how much they spend there. No American travel agent is allowed to sell Vietnam tours without a license from the Treasury Department. And while one may telephone the United States from Vietnam, it is illegal to call Vietnam from the United States.

These are all ramifications of the 1917 Trading With the Enemy Act, which prohibits business with certain countries, currently including Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea and Cuba.

Under pressure from American businessmen and the Congress, relations between Washington and Hanoi are improving slowly, with Washington recently offering Vietnam a "road map" in stages to normal relations. But it is predicated on a peace settlement in Cambodia, which the Vietnamese say would come more easily once normal diplomatic relations are in place.

For now, then, American Embassy officials in Bangkok say these rules apply to Americans visiting Vietnam:

* No more than $200 a day (this is plenty of purchasing power) may be spent there.

* No more than $100 worth of Vietnamese merchandise, purchased for personal use and put in accompanying baggage, may be taken back.

* Credit cards may not be used, an increasing burden, since many Vietnamese hotels now take Visa. Hotels will not take a Visa card from an American passport holder.

But the American dollar is the only foreign currency of any use in Vietnam, so you must take in cash, including a fair number of small-denomination bills. You may also use American Express Travelers Checks in many Vietnamese hotels, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, but they are subject to a handling fee of 3 to 5 percent.

While food and drink may be paid for in Vietnamese dong, room, telephone and telex charges must be paid for in dollars, and many merchants prefer them. Don't change more than $40 or so at a time.

For all these reasons, it makes sense to pay for as much of your trip as possible in Bangkok, where American credit cards are accepted, and receive vouchers for transportation, room and meals. The $200 spending limit does not apply to purchases in Thailand. Getting a Visa

To get a tourist visa, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok insists you must buy a tour. Visas for group tours are issued routinely and should take no more than two weeks. This is most efficiently done in Bangkok. A listing of agencies appears on page 29. It is a good idea to begin applying for a visa by telephone, telex or fax before you arrive. Visas for independent American tourists are harder to obtain. While the Vietnamese Embassy charges only $14 for a tourist visa, however, some tour companies will charge you $100 for the service. It is a good idea to ask what the fee will be. S. E.

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A version of this article appears in print on April 28, 1991, on Page 5005008 of the National edition with the headline: For Many Vietnamese, It's Still Saigon. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe